Railway vehicle platform moving arrangement



April 15, 1969 F. WILLIS VEHICLE PLATFORM MOVING ARRANGEMENT RAILWAYSheet Filed July 10. 1967 INVENTOR FLA KE WILLIS rod April 15, 1969 F.wu 1 |s RAILWAY VEHICLE PLATFORM MOVING ARRANGEMENT Filed July 10, 1967Sheet Jim i 44 /4? INVENTOR FLAKE WILLIS April 15, 1969 F. w|| |sRAILWAY VEHICLE PLATFORM MOVING ARRANGEMENT Filed July 10. 1967 SheetINVENTOR ATT'Y.

April 15, 1969 F. WILLIS 3,438,519

RAILWAY VEHICLE PLATFORM MOVING ARRANGEMENT Filed July 10. 1967 Sheet 4of 4 8 INVENTOR FLAKE WILLIS %MWW United States Patent Office 3,438,519Patented Apr. 15, 1969 3,438,519 RAILWAY VEHICLE PLATFORM MOVINGARRANGEMENT Flake Willis, McCloud, Calif., assignor to PullmanIncorporated, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 10,1967, Ser. No. 652,142 Int. Cl. B65g 67/02; B60p 1/00; B61d 17/00 U.S.Cl. 214-38 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A conveying arrangementfor moving cargo such as sheet plywood and the like from a side dooropening in a railway box car including side-by-side disposed platformsmovable on trackways from a location adjacent to the door at which theplatforms are loaded to a location in the enclosed ends of the car. Theplatforms include resilient bumper means at each end thereof with oneend engaging a floor mounted stop means which is spaced from an end wallof the car to hold the other end in engagement with the wall and therebypreclude longitudinal movement of the platforms during transit. Sidewall spacers are mounted on the car sidewalls for movement from a storedposition against the side wall to a position in engagement with thecargo carried on the platforms to prevent displacement from theplatforms during transit. Mounted on the floor stop engaging end of eachof the platforms is a pulley. Trained over the pulleys on opposite onesof the platforms is a length of cable having stop means fixed adjacentthe respective ends thereof. The cable is used to move the platformsfrom the position adjacent the end of the car to a position in the doorarea. To this end one of the stop means on the floor is released topermit movement of the associated platform and the opposite platform isretained against longitudinal movement by the stop means. Thereafter theend of the cable trained over the pulley on the stationary platform ispulled to move the other platform along the trackway into the door area.The moved platform may then be returned to the enclosed end of the carand the other platform released from engagement with the stop and movedinto the door area in the same manner.

Cross-reference to related application This is an improvement on therailway box car structure shown in US. patent application Ser. No.619,446, filed Feb. 28, 1967 and assigned to the assignee of the presentinvention.

Summary of the invention The present invention relates to an arrangementfor drawing or pulling lengthwise movable roller mounted platforms fromthe enclosed ends of a railway vehicle of the box car type by means of apulley-cable arrangement coaeting between the opposing ones of theroller mounted platforms. The pulley-cable arrangement includes a pulleyfixed to respective ones of the opposing platforms and a cable trainedthereover. The ends of the cable are looped to receive a hook attachedto a mechanically operated pulling force. Each of the cable membersadjacent the looped end thereof is provided with a stop member whichspans the yoke arms of each of the yoke members mounting the pulleys onthe platforms so that when a pulling force is exerted on one of thelooped ends of the cable, the stop on the other end of the cable spansthe yoke arms and transmits a pulling force on the associated platform.The arrangement is used to selectively move one of the platforms fromthe enclosed ends of the railway car into the door area by initiallyrestraining the opposing, platform against lengthwise movement in theopposite enclosed end and applying a pulling force on the looped end ofthe cable associated with the restrained platform.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a railwaycar with the roof removed and showing the platforms of the cargocarrying platforms in the stored position thereof and the pulley andcable arrangement of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of one end of the platform of theconveying arrangement and showing the track and stop structure mountedon the floor of the railway car;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view showing the platform mounted on thetrackway installed in the floor of the car;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken generally along the lines 44 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken generally along the lines 55 ofFIG. 2 and showing in particular the resilient "bumper arrangement atone end of the platform in engagement with the stop means for preventinglengthwise movement of the platform;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of one end of the railway carincorporating the cargo carrying platforms and showing the side spacersmounted on the side walls for retaining the cargo on the platformsduring transit;

'FIG. 7 is a fragmentary top plan view of the railway car in the doorwayarea thereof with the cargo carrying platforms in the stored position;and

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing two of the opposing platformswith the pulley-cable arrangement being attached to pulling mechanismfor moving one of the platforms into the door area.

Description of the preferred embodiments Referring now to the drawings,in particular FIGS. 1 and 6, there is shown a railway box car 10 ofsubstantially conventional structure including a floor 11, side walls12, end walls 1'3 and a roof 14. Formed in the side walls are dooropenings 16 which are adaptable to be closed off by lengthwise slidabledoors of well known construction. Mounted on the floor 11 andincorporated into the interior chamber of the box car is a cargocarrying arrangement 17.

The cargo carrying arrangement 17 is particularly adapted for using thebox car 10 to transport lumber in the form of stacked plywood sheets orbundles of lengths of stick lumber and the like.

The cargo carrying arrangement 17, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, comprisesgenerally a trackway means 18 including two pairs of transversely spacedrails 19 extending lengthwise of the car between the end walls 13thereof. The rails 19 may be in the form of an I-beam and may be fixedto crossbearers (not shown) or to the floor, if metal, by welding or thelike.

Mounted for rolling movement on the rails 19 are platforms 21 which arepreferably dimensioned to accommodate two lengths of the usual 4 x 8sheets of plywood. The platforms 21 each include a floor 22 which may beformed by lengthwise extending frame members 2323 extending along thesides and across which there are fixed floor boards 24. The center ofthe platform 21 may be reinforced by transversely spaced members 26-26which are reinforced adjacent each end thereof as shown in FIG. 2 bymeans of diagonally extending braces 2727 between the end frame member28 and inwardly spaced braces 2929. Journaled adjacent each end of theplatform 21 between each pair of the frame members 23-23 are flangedroller wheels 31 which are supported on shafts 32. Intermediate the endsthere may be provided rollers 33 which may be of the unfianged type soas to be merely G ridable on the top surface of the I-beam rails 19.Further retaining the platform on the rails 19 are hook members 34 fixedto the end frame members 28 and having a horizontal leg 36 underlyingupper web 37 of I-beam rail 19.

Mounted on the end frame members 28 of each of the platforms 2]. is abumper mechanism 38 as shown in particular in FIGS. 2, 5 and 8,including a stop plate 39 disposed substantially midway between thesides of the platform 21. Fixed adjacent to the ends of the stop plate39 are guide pins 41 which are slidably received within openings 42formed in the end frame members 28. At the center of the stop plate 39there is fixed to the inner face thereof one end of a tubular member 43which is received within a second tube 44- extending through the endmember 28 and fixed at its other end to a transverse reinforcing brace45 extending between the braces 226. Fixed at one end in an opening 45provided in the stop plate 39 and extending coaxially through thetubular members 43 and 44 is a bar 47 which at its other end is receivedwithin an opening 48 through the transverse brace. Threaded to theprojecting end of the bar 47 is a nut 49 which serves as a stop.Coaxially disposed about the bar .7 and disposed within the tubularmembers 43 and .4 is a compression spring 51 which serves to cushionimpact forces applied on the buffer plate 37. Extending between thebutfer plate 37 and the end member 28 is a bottom plate 52 which engagesthe lower edge of the buffer plate as shown in FIG. 5 and serves to holda stop means 53 inoperative as the platform 19 passes thereover.

Mounted on the floor 11 and spaced from the end wall so as to hold theplatforms 21 against the respective end walls 13, are stop means 53. Thestop means 53, as shown, in particular in FIGS. 2 and 5, comprises arectangular box-like support structure 54 which is recessed in the floor11 and includes a base 56, sides 57 and ends 58. Disposed within thechamber 59 of the box support 54- is a counterbalanced stop lever 61rockably supported on a horizontal shaft 62 extending between the sidesthereof. The stop lever 61 normally assumes the inclined position shownin FIG. 5 and engages the buffer plate 39 after the platform has passedthereover from a position in the door area of the car to a position inthe enclosed area so as to hold the latter against the end wall andprevent lengthwise movement thereof. To release the platforms 21 fromthe closed ends for movement on the tracks 19, the stop levers 61 ateach of the platforms 21 are-manually depressed so that the lever 61 isrotated to a position within the chamber 59 out of the path of movementof the platforms 21. A complementary stop means 53a may also be providedto hold the platforms 21 in position for loading adjacent the dooropenings 16. The stop means 53a may be formed similarly to that shown inFIG. 7 and lie in back-to-back relationship therewith, as shown in FIG.1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, mounted along each side of the door openings16 to the end walls 13 are a plurality of lengthwise spaced filler orspacer assemblies 65 which are movable inwardly and outwardly in avertical plane from a stored position adjacent the wall to a positionabutting plywood sheets or stick lumber carried on the platforms 21. Thespacer assemblies 65 each include a plurality of spacer boards 66 eachof which extends vertically between the platform floor 22 to the carroof or ceiling 14. The spacer boards 66 are each mounted on the wall bymeans of pairs of links 6767 and 68-68 disposed on opposite sides at theupper and lower ends thereof. The links 67-67 and 68-68 are pivotallyconnected to respective sleeve members which are rotatable on reverselythreaded portions formed on a vertically extending shaft which isturnably mounted on the wall. Upon turning of each of the shafts, thespacer boards 66 are movable inwardly and outwardly between a storedposition adjacent the wall and are operative in engagement with thecargo carried on the platforms 21, as shown in FIG. 8.

The spacer assemblies 65 further include a drive shaft 82 for actuatingthe spacer boards 66 simultaneously between the stored and operativepositions. The drive shaft 82 is manually operated by a handle 83located in the door area 16. Upon turning of the drive shaft 82, bevelgears mounted thereon and meshing with bevel gears carried by the spacershafts are operative to turn the latter to the desired positions. For amore detailed description of the spacer assemblies reference is made tothe aforementioned U.S. copending patent application Ser. No. 619,446.

In use, two of the platforms 21 may be located in the center of the carIt} in the door openings 16 between the stops 53a so as to hold theplatforms in position. Thereafter, the lumber in the form of plywoodsheets or bundles of boards may be loaded on the platforms 21. Theloaded platforms 21 may then be pushed either manually or by way of alift truck to a position in the enclosed end of the car 18. During suchmovement of the platforms along the trackway when the bumper on one endof the car strikes the end wall 13, the stop means 53 will be in aposition to engage the opposite end of the platform to retain the latteragainst longitudinal movement of the railway vehicle.

The other two platforms may be similarly loaded and positioned in theenclosed end of the car and held fixed against length-wise movement bythe stop means 53. 'If desired, further lumber may be stored in thedoorways on the floor structure as shown in FIG. 1 to fill the area inthe vicinity of the door.

To facilitate the unloading of the railway vehicle '10 each of theplatforms 21, as shown in FIGS. 3, 7 and 8, is rovided with a pulleyassembly 85. The pulley assemolies 85 each include a yoke 86 to thebight of which there is turnably attached one end of a fastening studwhich is fixed at the other end to the front brace 28. R0- tatablysupported between the yoke arms 87 of each of the assemblies 85 is apulley 88. It is to be noted that pulley assemblies 85 on the opposingones of the platforms are located on the same side of the longitudinalcenter line in substantial longitudinal alignment.

Trained over the pairs of the pulleys 88 on each of the opposingplatforms 21-21 is a cable 91. The ends of the cable 91 are formed intoloops 92 and 93 by means of clamps 94. The clamps 94 have attachedthereto a stop member 66 which bridges the yoke arms 87 of the yokes 85.

To move the platforms from the enclosed ends of the car 10 to thedoorway 16 by means of the pulley-cable arrangement, one of theplatforms 21 is restrained against longitudinal movement by anassociated stop means 53, while the other platform 21 is releasedtherefrom for longitudinal movement. Assuming, as shown in FIGS. 7 and8, it is desired to move the platform .21 located in the right enclosedend of the car 10 into the doorway I16, a grapple hook is attached tothe looped end 92- of the cable 91 and a pulling force exerted thereon.The counterbalance stop lever 61 associated with the right platform 21is depressed to release the latter for movement along the tracks 19. Asthe pulling force is exerted on the cable 91 the stop member 96 adjacentthe loop end 93 is drawn against the yoke arms 87, whereupon the rightplatform is pulled along the tracks into the door area 16. When theright platform 21 abuts against the left counterbalanced lever 61 of thestop 53a, the pulling force is released and the right counterbalancedlever engages the opposite end of the right platform 21 and holds thelatter restrained within the door area 16. Thereafter the platform 21may be loaded or unloaded.

To move the left platform 21 the right platform 21 is released fromengagement from the right stop means 53a and pushed to the rightenclosed end of the car 10 and restrained against longitudinal movementagainst the right end wall 13 by the right stop means 53. Thereafter,the grappling hook is attached to the loop 93 and a pulling forceapplied thereto.

In a manner similar to that described in connection with the moving ofthe right platform 21, the stop 96 spans and engages the yoke arms 87 ofthe pulley assembly 85 associated with the left platform 21 and thelatter is moved to the center of the car into the door areas 21.

I claim:

1. In a railway vehicle of the box car type having a substantiallycentrally located door area, a pair of track mounted platforms movablelengthwise of the car into opposite enclosed ends of the box car andreleasable platform stop means for retaining said platforms inlengthwise spaced opposing relationship in the enclosed ends of said boxcar, the improvement comprising pulley means attached to said opposingplatforms in opposing relationship, a cable trained over said pulleymeans on each of said platforms, and stop means spaced from each of therespective ends of said cable, said stop means being engageable withsaid pulley means on one of said platforms upon the application of apulling force to the other end thereof whereby when said platformassociated with said one pulley means is released from said platformstop means said associated platform is moved into said door area.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said respective ends ofsaid cable are formed into loops.

3. The invention as defined in claim 2 'wherein a clamp is used to formsaid loops and said clamp incorporates said stop means.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3 wherein said pulley meansincludes a yoke turnably supporting a pulley and said stop means spanssaid yoke.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ROBERT G. SHERIDAN, PrimaryExaminer.

US. Cl. X.R.

